A snap poll taken hours after Pope Francis's death Monday morning finds largely positive feelings about the Catholic leader. 53% of U.S. adults say Francis was either a very good pope (30%) or one of the best popes (23%) — compared to only 15% of U.S. adult citizens who said Pope Benedict XVI was very good (13%) or one of the best (2%) when he resigned in 2013.
Catholics are more positive about Francis than are Americans as a whole — 67% call him either very good (39%) or one of the best (27%). Only 9% of U.S. adults and 8% of Catholics say Francis was a poor pope or one of the worst popes.
Americans' views of Francis vary with political ideology. 78% of very liberal Americans see Francis as a good or great pope, while only 34% of very conservative Americans say so. Among very conservative Americans, more say Francis was one of the worst popes (17%) than that he was one of the best (11%). With Benedict, conservatives viewed his legacy more favorably than liberals did — yet more conservatives view Francis's legacy favorably than did for Benedict's.
Very conservative non-Catholics are more likely to have negative views of Francis (38% say he was either poor or one of the worst) than are very conservative Catholics (25%). But even among Catholics, those who identify as very conservative are more likely to view Francis negatively than are Catholics who are less conservative.
News of Francis's death spread quickly Monday. YouGov surveyed 3,814 U.S. adults between 10:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. Eastern Time, less than eight hours after the pope's overnight death announcement. 79% of Americans — including 89% of Catholics — said they had already heard at least a little about the pope's death.
As preparations begin for a conclave to select a new pope, more Americans are hoping Francis' replacement will be more of a reformer (36%) than that he will be more of a traditionalist (22%). But Catholics themselves are much more closely divided: 39% prefer a reformer and 34% a traditionalist.
Among liberals but not conservatives, non-Catholics are much more likely than Catholics to want a reforming pope. Among both liberals and conservatives, Catholics are more likely to want a traditionalist pope than are non-Catholics.
Most Americans (57%) say it doesn't matter where in the world the next pope comes from. Francis, from Argentina, was the first pope from the New World. 11% of Americans would prefer the next pope be from the U.S., while 7% want a European, 6% a pope from Latin America, 4% a pope from Africa, and 2% a pope from Asia. When Benedict resigned, 15% of Americans preferred a pope from the U.S. and 43% said it didn't matter.
See the results of this poll:
- How do you think Pope Francis will go down in history? Do you think he will be remembered as...?
- Pope Francis died on Monday. How much have you heard about this before now?
- Would you prefer that the next Pope be more of a...?
- Where would you prefer the next Pope originate from?
Methodology: The Daily Questions survey was conducted online on April 21, 2025 among 3,814 U.S. adults. The sample was weighted according to gender, age, race, education, U.S. census region, and political party. The margin of error for the overall sample is approximately 2%.
Image: Getty
What do you think about the election, American politics in general, and everything else? Have your say, join the YouGov panel, and get paid to share your thoughts. Sign up here.
